Richard Flax, chief investment officer of Moneyfarm, said in a report that data showing a modest decline in inflation in the UK in February is unlikely to alleviate fiscal pressure. The UK's overall annual inflation rate fell slightly higher than expected from 3.0% in January to 2.8%. Flax said the British Chancellor may feel a little relieved by the continued easing of inflation, but this modest drop is almost helping to alleviate fiscal pressure. He also said tariff risks could raise import costs and drive inflation higher, limiting the Bank of England's room for interest rate cuts.